Theories and Approaches to British Decolonization in Southeast Asia

There is a tendency to think of decolonization as belonging mainly to the postwar period, with the years 1914-1941 being a time of "nationalism", and 1870-1914 an era of "new" or "high imperialism". This chapter surveys approaches to British decolonization, in the context of Southeast Asia, to see how far new paradigms and ways of linking old models be profitably explored. It re-examines the nature of decolonization through three main questions. First, the chapter explores the nature of Southeast Asia as a region and its relationship to other structures and area. Next, it looks at the possibility of identifying an emerging pattern to the historiography on British-influenced territories. Thirdly, the chapter examines how useful the idea of "withdrawal" in 1968 in, and examines whether decolonization really come to a rude full stop, dividing time neatly into a European- and American-dominated imperial period, and the postcolonial Asian-dominated world of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).